On any given day a simple assumption you made unwittingly can return to haunt you. And, it often has serious ramifications.

In this increasingly complex world we become daily more removed from the details in those less-visible lower levels. Underlying facts and technology are obscured, which only magnifies our personal liabilities.

Say you’re traveling from A to B by car with need to participate in a lengthy, important, scheduled teleconference. As you start to dial-in you realize you’re in a long stretch of spotty cell coverage. Ouch.

I recently visited a high-end paint store and bought top-quality paint for exterior work. It never occurred to me that in a high sun exposure, South-facing application other brands might offer a much better product. I’d assumed things about the company, their product and salesperson. Again, ouch!

We can’t exhaustively investigate details and potential liabilities for everything we do. It’s just not practical. Yet who among us can afford the bad outcomes that may result?

The problems are the same in the workplace. When (say) a troublesome issue just finally appears resolved it’s tempting to quickly move on, but perhaps too soon. This is typically the most critical time to focus and secure solid closure.

As managers we constantly make Assumptions that are both

• Conscious – often for expediency
• Unconscious – through normalcy bias, ignorance or even laziness

There needs to some mechanism to control the inherent liabilities buried in these Assumptions we make. Realistically, we cannot walk around totally paranoid and micromanaging details of every event. Fortunately, that’s not required as there is a simple solution.

To head-off most consequential problems (which result from unwise assumptions) we must embrace the need to do the following things:

• Remain Diligent
• Lose our Fears of Appearing Ignorant (grow Confidence)

Nobody wants to manage and live their lives totally on the edge of paranoia, but if we simply Remain Diligent at critical times we can learn to habitually check for downstream liabilities.

Similarly, if you’re not scared to speak up and risk appearing subject-ignorant you’ll often surprise yourself and others how insightful you can be. Your Confidence will grow as you practice the art.

With these two improvements (Diligence and Confidence) in place, now all you need to do is just ask questions.

For example: (Say) a big manufacturing problem has finally been identified. Rather than just sigh with relief and move on, try asking a simple, yet relevant question…

“Have we proven beyond all doubt that XYZ is the root problem?” Or,

“Have we got tests lined up to verify the finding?” Or,

“Are we certain nothing else might be contributing to these failures?” And, so on.

It’s not necessary you are expert or even knowledgeable on the subject matter. It is necessary you understand simple process and guide others to secure certain and final closure.

So, always be diligent when dealing with matters on a trivialized or higher level. The devil just might be in those details.

As long as you put the right experts in place your simple, yet probing questions can now delve down into the details and keep things on track.

And, once again, the benefits of having the right people on-board and understanding their strengths pays dividends.

For my own part, perhaps next time I’ll even remember to ask that salesman, ”is your paint really the best available on the market for high exposure, South-facing applications?”

Ian R. Mackintosh is the author of Empower Your Inner Manager Twitter @ianrmackintosh